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Healthy Nigerian Snacks to Prevent Weight Gain

Healthy Nigerian Snacks
Nutrition
Recipes
| May 19, 2022

Snacking is the best way to curb those hunger pangs and satisfy your sweet tooth. But If you’re trying to lose weight, it can be hard to find a snack that doesn’t leave you feeling like you just ate a bag of bricks.

What if you’re looking for something as healthy as it gets? Not something full of sugar, fat, and salt—which will cause you to gain weight instead of losing it. Luckily, there are lots of healthy Nigerian snacks out there that don’t have the same unhealthy ingredients as most processed snacks. These snacks are easy to make in big batches so you can keep them on hand for whenever hunger strikes.

Snacks are an important part of any diet. They give you energy between meals and keep your metabolism working at its peak throughout the day. But snacking on unhealthy snacks can be disastrous for weight loss goals; they don’t fill you up or satiate your hunger the same way as healthier options do, leading to overeating at mealtimes or even binge eating later on in the day when hunger strikes again!

Here are some healthy Nigerian snacks ideas (and recipes) that will help prevent weight gain while keeping your tummy filled with all kinds of goodness:

Are snacks healthy?

Snacks are healthy if they are made from healthy ingredients, eaten in moderation, and at the right time. When you eat snacks, it’s important to keep in mind that different snacks have different amounts of calories. Some of them contain more fat than others, which can make it easy for you to consume too many calories or get too much-saturated fat in your diet. It’s also important to consider how often you’re eating snacks throughout the day and whether this type of food is being used as a meal replacement or an addition to one of your meals.

If you’re looking for healthier options when it comes to snacking on foods that normally aren’t considered particularly healthy (like potato chips), we’ve got some ideas for snacks that will satisfy those cravings without sacrificing nutrition:

Benefits of snacks

Snacking is an important part of our diet and it helps us control our hunger between meals, keep our energy levels up throughout the day, and stay satisfied between meals.

Snacking helps you maintain stable blood sugar levels. Snacking can also help maintain healthy blood pressure and cholesterol levels. Staying away from high-fat foods during these small meals will help keep your cholesterol down as well!

In addition to the health benefits that snacking offers, it can also help with weight management. By eating frequent small meals rather than large meals, you will not have any large spikes in your blood sugar level which causes your body to release insulin which helps store fat.

Snacking is a healthy habit and it is a good way to keep your energy level up. It is also a good way to keep your blood sugar level up and your metabolism up, which means that you will not have any mood swings. When you snack, you must choose the right type of food because some snacks can be unhealthy for the body and cause weight gain.

Snacks keep blood sugar stable and help reduce cravings that may lead to overeating. This is especially important in the evening hours when many people tend to eat large meals or snacks that are high in calories and fat before going to bed.

Recipes for healthy snacks

Nigerian snacks are great because they are delicious, but they also have a lot of unhealthy ingredients. That’s why it’s important to choose the right ones—and there are plenty of options out there! To help you make the best decisions for your body.

If you still have it in mind to snack, then the following are the healthy Nigerian snacks to prevent weight gain which you can try out.

Here are the recipes:

1. Air-popped Popcorn

Air-popped popcorn is a healthy snack because it is low in calories and fat. It is also a good source of fiber, antioxidants, magnesium, and potassium.

Many people are surprised to learn that air-popped popcorn has only 30 calories per cup (about 1 ounce). The same portion of microwaved popcorn contains about 250-300 calories. So if you were to eat an ounce of either type of popcorn every day for over a year, you would consume fewer than 5 pounds more air-popped popcorn than microwaved popcorn! That’s not much at all!

Ingredients:

1/2 cup popcorn kernels (about 4 cups popped) or 2 bags microwave popcorn, popped and unpopped kernels removed

3 tablespoons coconut oil or butter of choice, melted (optional)

Preparation:

  • In a large bowl, toss the popcorn with the melted coconut oil or butter until evenly coated. If using oil, spread in an even layer on a large plate and set aside at room temperature for 5 minutes to soften slightly. With a slotted spoon, transfer to the serving bowl; toss immediately before serving.
2. Omelet muffins

Ingredients:

  • 3 eggs
  • ½ cup of grated cheese (optional)
  • 1/3 cup of chopped spinach (optional)
  • Salt and pepper to taste.

Preparation:

  • Beat the eggs with a fork until it becomes fluffy. Add salt, pepper, and grated cheese to taste. Mix well. If you want to add spinach, mix them now with your hands; be sure that all ingredients are evenly dispersed throughout the mixture.
  • Pour this mixture into 6 muffin cups lined with paper cups or greaseproof paper; fill each cup about ¾ full or less than 80% full so that when they set they won’t overflow while cooking in the oven (this is especially important if you don’t want any mess on your floor). Bake at 350ºF/180ºC until firm and golden brown on top (about 20 minutes). Remove from oven and serve hot!
3. Fruits Smoothie

The third healthy Nigerian snack to prevent weight gain is fruit smoothies. Smoothies are very easy to make, delicious, and nutritious. They can be carried around easily in a flask or bottle. They are also convenient because they don’t spoil easily and don’t require much storage space. You don’t have to buy expensive food processors or blenders; all you need is a blender with a strong motor that can pulverize ice cubes easily without burning out! If you have children who love smoothies, this will also help them reduce snacking time on unhealthy snacks like chips or sugary cereals.

Any of the fruit combinations will make for a good smoothie, see here for some good suggestions for healthy smoothie recipes.

4. Homemade chips

Homemade chips are healthier, cheaper, and easier to make than store-bought chips. Making your homemade chips will help you save money while also providing an opportunity to eat a healthy snack. You can use any type of potato or root vegetable as long as it is thinly sliced and baked until crispy in the oven.

Preparation:

When making homemade potato chips, you have to cut them into thin slices so that they cook quickly in the oven before becoming soggy or soft. This way, you’ll be able to enjoy them fresh out of the oven with no risk of spoiling. If you want more flavor on your homemade potato chips, consider adding some spices such as salt or pepper when slicing them up before baking them in the oven.

5. Homemade frozen yogurt popsicles

Frozen yogurt popsicles.

If you’re looking for a healthy snack that can also be made by kids, these are the perfect ones. They are quick and easy to make, yet delicious and healthy at the same time. All you need is some mango or pineapple juice (or any other fruit juice of your choice), yogurt, and ice cubes – voila! You’ve got yourself a homemade frozen yogurt popsicle that’s good for you!

6. Watermelon popsicle

Watermelon popsicles are a great summer treat, but they’re also healthy snacks to prevent weight gain.

Preparation:

  • To make them, you’ll need a blender or food processor. To keep things simple and avoid washing another dish, I recommend using the same one you used for my pineapple smoothie recipe (in this article).
  • Chop up a watermelon into chunks and blend them with some milk or cream until smooth. Add honey if desired to sweeten the mixture.
  • Pour the blended watermelon mixture into molds and freeze overnight! You can even add mint leaves if you like that flavor combination better than plain old “watermelon.” The mint will add extra health benefits too: it’s an excellent source of vitamin K which helps improve blood clotting time by facilitating calcium absorption in bones; plus it contains antioxidants that may help protect against age-related macular degeneration (AMD)
7. Fresh fruit salad with yogurt dip

Fresh fruit salad with yogurt dip is a great snack option for people who want to eat healthily but don’t have time to prepare something more involved. A small bowl of this can be made in minutes, and it will fill you up without making you feel guilty.

Fruits are a good source of fiber and antioxidants, which help your digestive system work better and keep you feeling full longer. Yogurt is also high in protein, calcium, and vitamin D—all nutrients that contribute to strong bones—as well as probiotics that aid digestion. Eating yogurt with fresh fruit will give your body an extra boost of vitamins and minerals.

Since fruits contain a lot of water and fiber, they help keep you hydrated and full for a longer period than other snacks.

8. Nuts & seeds

Nuts like almonds, cashew nuts, and pistachios are rich in proteins which help in breaking down fat cells and thus prevent weight gain eating nuts regularly as snacks will help in achieving this goal easily without much effort on your part.

9. Dry fruits

Dates, raisins, etc., these dried fruits give us energy when we need it most especially after waking up from sleep or after exercise sessions when one feels tired due to a lack of energy supply within our bodies hence making them very good choices for snacking purposes at any point during the day whether early morning during breakfast or evening before going to bed at night

10. Roasted Plantain Chips

Eating these chips will keep your mouth busy while you chew, which will help you feel fuller faster, so you don’t overeat. Plus, they have a little bit of fat and protein, so they’re better for your body than potato chips.

11. Coconut Water

You’ve probably heard about coconut water’s benefits before. It’s an excellent way to stay hydrated, and it contains many essential minerals like potassium and magnesium. If you’re trying to lose weight, make sure to only drink the fresh stuff—canned coconut water has almost no nutritional value at all!

Drinking coconut water instead of soda pop or other sweetened drinks helps prevent overeating while giving your body lots more nutrients than other liquids do (like juice) but without all

12. Rice cakes

Rice cakes are a great way to satisfy your sweet tooth while keeping calories low. They’re usually made with brown rice flour and have a crunchy texture similar to crackers or potato chips. You can find them in most grocery stores around Nigeria—they’re often sold pre-packaged or as part of a larger mix of products like cookies or cake mix (which also makes them convenient for sharing).

13. Oatmeal cookies

These cookies are delicious and nutritious. Oatmeal is full of fiber, which helps keep your digestive system running smoothly. The raisins give a great burst of sweetness that will make you feel like you’re eating something decadent!

14. Banana pancakes

Pancakes can be loaded with sugar, but these aren’t! They’re made with whole wheat flour and bananas instead of white flour and sugar syrup so they contain fewer calories than traditional pancakes while still tasting just as good.

Healthy snacks for weight loss

The above-listed healthy Nigerian snacks to prevent weight gain is a good snack idea for you, but remember, do not overindulge. Eat at the right time and in the right amount.

Some people are fond of snacking and it may cause them to gain more weight than they need because of the wrong choices of snacks.

In Nigeria, unhealthy snacks are the norm. This is because most people don’t know that there are healthy options available to them.

If you want to lose weight, then you should also consider making some changes in your diet as well. Having a healthy snack helps with this process and makes it easier for many people who struggle with weight loss.

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